


deeper (the wound just gets deeper)

by craashintome



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, High Angst, does it count as a gang au if a gang is already in canon?, eh I'm just gonna call it a bigger gang au, im not joking this is gonna have so much angst, jason is alive, rival crime family/gangs, riverdale is a city, the serpents are much bigger, this shit is gonna hurt and im already sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-08 10:48:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14692626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/craashintome/pseuds/craashintome
Summary: Cheryl works as a doctor in one of the biggest hospitals on the Northside of the city. She has little involvement in her family business, and intends to keep it that way.That is, until Hiram Lodge pressures the Blossoms to send in their only daughter to spy on a notorious gang that controls the Southside.(updates Sundays)





	1. Chapter 1

Cheryl loves her job, as loathe as she is to admit it.

The hours are brutally long, and the pay is laughable. By the time she arrives home, she’s usually too exhausted to greet her family and ends up passing out on the couch, only to be woken up in mere hours by an alarm telling her it’s time to return to the hospital.

It will all be worth it in the end, though. Her residency is the last step in her journey to become a surgeon, to truly make something of herself.

Jason can have the family business. Cheryl is content to spend her days here, knowing that she is actually doing something to help people.

It’s funny, really. Jason had always been the sweeter twin. He was kinder and softer than she was, but he would end up as the head of the family. All because of what was written on their birth certificates.

The skyline of the city is beautiful at this time of night. Plunged in darkness, the city lights twinkle back at her.

“Cheryl?"

Cheryl turns towards Alice Cooper, a smile plastered on her face.

“Yes, Aunt Alice?” She asks.

“How long have you been here?” Alice frowns disapprovingly. “Have you left since last night’s operation?”

“No, there’s been too much going on. There was a four car pile up on the highway. Trauma was a zoo.”

“Yes, I know. That was hours ago, Cheryl. You should go home, get some rest.”

Cheryl sighed deeply. “In a bit, I was thinking I’d-”

“Go home. I am not saying this as your aunt. I’m ordering you as head of this hospital.”

Cheryl wants to fight, but she knows this is a battle she can’t win. She nods mutely and makes a beeline for the locker rooms to change out of her scrubs.

* * *

 

“Where have you been?”

Cheryl curses silently. She knew she should have gone in the back door.

Reluctantly stepping into the parlour, Cheryl cringes when she sees that her mother is not alone.

Lounging casually on her family’s finest furniture, Hiram Lodge gives Cheryl a charming smile. Next to him sits his wife, Hermione Lodge.

Cheryl catches Jason’s eye, and he shakes his head slightly. He wants her to say as little as possible.

“Father, Mother.” Cheryl nods. “JJ. Good evening, Mr. Lodge, Mrs. Lodge, it’s been too long. Tell me, how is Veronica?”

“Veronica is doing well. I’ve placed her in charge of public relations. It suits her.” Hiram runs his finger across the rim of his glass. “I hear you’ve been working at the local hospital.”

“Yes.” Cheryl makes her way to Jason and squeezes his shoulder. “It keeps me busy.”

“Don’t the Coopers run that hospital?” Hermione aks. No one in the room misses the underlying question.

“Now, now, Hermione.” Clifford waves his hand. “The Coopers may not use our name, but they are blood. And nothing runs thicker than blood in this business.”

“Clever move, isn’t it?” Hiram hums. “Positioning Cheryl there. Keeping your friends close, I see.”

Jason gives the room a tight smile. “Cheryl is probably exhausted. She should go get some rest. Isn’t that right, Sister?”

“I-” Cheryl meets Jason’s gaze. “Yes. I think I should go to bed, it’s been a long day.”

“Let me escort you to your room.” Jason stands up and takes her hand. “I’ll be back shortly, continue your meeting.”

“Goodnight, Dear.” Cheryl’s father doesn’t bother looking at her. “Be back quickly, Jason. There is much to be discussed.”

Jason tugs at Cheryl impatiently as she gives the Lodges her goodbyes and well wishes.

His strides are long and quick as he leads her upstairs. Jason opens her bedroom door for her and closes it behind them, easing it shut slowly as not to make a sound. He presses his ear against the door, then frantically begins to search Cheryl’s room.

“JJ? What are you doing?” Cheryl asks, worry lacing through her tone.

“Checking for bugs.” Jason mutters frantically. “Something is going down, Cheryl. Something bad. They’re plotting as we speak, and you’re a key point for it.”

“What are you talking about? Slow down, I can’t understand you.”

“ _Cheryl_.” Jason lets out a weak whine. “I’m saying that they want you to do something for them. For their _business_.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I’m not-they’ve made it very clear I’m not going to be involved in their little dirty dealings.”  

“Well, from what I’ve heard, that is about to change. It’s not good, Cher-bear.”

“Jason, calm down. What are Mommy and Daddy planning for me?”

Jason rakes his hand through his hair, looking half-crazed. “That’s the thing. I don’t _know_. They haven’t told me. All I know that they have some sort of job for you.”

“What could they possibly want me to do? I’m a doctor, JJ. In their line of work...I can’t imagine what use I would be. I’ve already made it clear I have no interest in extracting bullets for them.”

Jason buries his face in his hands. “I know, I know. I probably sound crazy. I _feel_ like I’m going crazy. But, I need you to know before they approach you. From what I’ve gathered, what they want you to do is _dangerous_. They didn’t sound like they cared that you would be in the crosshairs.”

Cheryl wraps her arms around Jason and gives him a tight hug. “I’ll be okay, JJ. I’m a Blossom, don’t forget that.”  
  
“I know you are, Cher-bear.” Jason whispers. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Breaking apart from Jason’s embrace, Cheryl reaches for her desk drawer. She fumbles around for the secret compartment she had carved out when she was six and pulls out her birthday gift from Jason last year.

“Should I go and stay there for a few weeks?” Cheryl gestures to the key she’s holding.

“No.” Jason sighs. “It will look suspicious if you disappear days before they actually need you for something.”

“Okay. There isn’t even a bed there, anyway.” Cheryl tucks the key carefully back into her drawer.

“There isn’t?” Jason is distracted for moment. “Why? Cher, I bought you that place so you’d have somewhere to go.”

Cheryl feels herself flush. “I use it for other purposes. Mind your own business.”

Jason looks like he’s bursting with curiosity, but doesn’t press her further.  

“I need to go back downstairs, or they’ll be suspicious.” Jason squeezes her hand. “I’ll find out what they’re planning, I promise. We’ll figure this out.”

God, Cheryl loves her brother more than anything. He has always looked out for her, even when they were children.

Maybe that’s why the sick look on his face now is making her stomach turn.


	2. Chapter 2

“Get up.”

Cheryl turns over, burying her head into a pillow. She hears the sound of curtains being thrown open and the click of her mother’s heels against the hardwood floor.

A light smack lands on her shoulder. “I said get up, you insolent little girl.”

Pulling herself so that her back rests against the headboard, Cheryl reluctantly cracks on eye open.

Her mother’s lip is curled and Cheryl knows that expression. There is a lot worse that a tap on the shoulder coming her way if she doesn’t move right now.

“I’m awake, Mother. But, you _do_ remember my shift at the hospital is two hours away?”

“You won’t be going to the hospital, Cheryl.”

Cheryl stares blankly at her mother. The confusion is quickly replaced with anger.

“Why, pray tell, not?” Cheryl demands.

Her mother keeps her back to Cheryl as she picks up a snowglobe that Cheryl received for Christmas when she was six. Turning it over in one hand, She doesn’t look at Cheryl when she makes a ‘hurry up’  gesture with the other.

Jason’s warning rings through her mind as she slips out of bed and begins pulling on her clothes for the day.

Cheryl’s shirt hasn’t fallen around her waist before her mother’s bony hand wraps around her wrist and pulls her forcefully out of the room and down the staircase. It’s sure to bruise, and Cheryl makes a mental note to change into a long sleeved shirt.

“Mother, what is going on?” Cheryl asks. “Is something wrong? Where’s Jason?”

“Your father needs to talk to you. Alone.” Her mother pauses. “Jason is out. He has duties to the family. And soon, so shall you.”

Cheryl blinks in disbelief. She’s lived twenty-four years as a Blossom, and not once has her father spoken to her directly about the family business. That isn’t her birthright, it’s Jason’s. It’s always, _always_ , been Jason’s.

Her mother finally halts to a stop in front her father’s study.

“Knock. He’ll be displeased if you don’t.” Her mother’s voice is barely above a whisper.

“Mother, what-”

“All will be explained.” Her mother turns to leave, but pauses. Seconds that feel like hours go by before her mother pulls her into a brief, but tight, hug.

Her presence being wanted in her father’s study. A hug from her mother. It’s a day of firsts, apparently.

“Go.” Her mother whispers.

Cheryl stands in front of the thick oak door of her father’s study and watches has her mother scurries away like she’s been burned.

She feels like she’s underwater as she raises her hand.

The three knocks she gives ring out through her house and into her bones.

“Enter.”  
  
Cheryl cautiously opens the door, revealing her father sitting behind a redwood desk. Her gazes flicks across the room before it lands on Hiram Lodge, lounging cross-legged on a leather arm chair in the corner.

The study is decorated even more lavishly than the rest of the house. Every piece of furniture contains at least a tinge of red, and ordinate frames hang on the walls.

It’s sickeningly fascinating, how she can see herself fade out from the family portraits over time.

The picture closest to her father’s desk is a beautiful oil painting of Jason. The artist’s technical skill is impressive, but Cheryl can’t help but silently think that she could have done a better job. The portrait doesn’t capture the warmth of Jason’s eyes, or the slight dimple in his left cheek that only appears when he fakes his smile.

“Cheryl. You are looking lovely this morning.” Hiram greets her.

“Thank you, Mr. Lodge.”  
  
“Please, call me Hiram.”

Cheryl tries to hide her surprise. She’s known the Lodges since she was in diapers, and never once has the patriarch corrected the way she addressed him.

She smooths her expression and gives her father a winning smile. “You asked for me, Daddy?”

“I did.” Her father waves his hand the only empty chair in the room. “Sit. There is much to discuss.”   

“I gathered that.” Cheryl said under her breath. Her father shot her warning look, but didn’t openly reprimand her.

“So, Cheryl.” Hiram sits forward, folding his hands on his knees. “Tell me. Do you like working at that hospital?”

His face is a mask of calm, but the bouncing of his leg betrays him. Anxiousness in Hiram Lodge is such a foreign sight that it takes Cheryl a few seconds to respond.

“I...Yes.” Cheryl nods slowly. “I do.”

“I imagined so. Alice Cooper tells me that you are an invaluable asset. According to her, you do thorough, clean work. Never a detail wrong, in fact.”

“Thank you, sir, but I can’t imagine we’re here to discuss my academic prowess.”

Hiram lets out a laugh and wags a finger at her father. “She’s sharp, Clifford.” His expression turn thoughtful. “It’s a shame, really. If only your boy-”

Her father bristles. “We are not here to discuss the differences between my children.”

Hiram sighs. “I suppose not. Forgive me, with just the one I can’t help but be curious.”

“Cheryl.” Her father’s voice rings out sharp and clear. “You are my youngest child. My only daughter. Since you and your brother’s birth, he has been groomed to take my place. You, on the other hand, have been gifted a life of ignorance and frivolity.”

Although the room is heated, a shiver runs down Cheryl’s back.

“That changes today.”

“Why?” Cheryl tries her hardest to keep the tremor out of her voice, but the twitch of displeasure that comes from her father’s mouth confirms her failure.

“You possess unique skills, Cheryl.” says Hiram. “Ones that not many in our business have. That makes you an asset.”

Cheryl doesn’t hide her frown. “No offense intended, but I know enough about yours and my father’s businesses to know that there is nothing I possess that could possibly be useful to you.”

“Au contraire, Miss Blossom. The job I’ve drawn up for you is something only you, and only you, can complete.”

Her father clears his throat. “I’ll admit, Cheryl, that I’ve never been impressed with your choice of career. I have always felt it... _beneath_ our blood.”

Cheryl snorts. “You do know having a child become a surgeon is most parent’s dearest dream, right, Daddy?”

“We are not common people, Cheryl.” Her father says calmly. “However, finally an opportunity has arrived for you to prove yourself as a Blossom. To make your bones, as it were. ”

“Can we end all this beating around the bush?” Cheryl cuts in. “What exactly is this job are you offering me?”

“Tell me, have you ever heard of Whyte Wyrm Brewery?” Hiram aks, crossing his legs casually.

“Of course. It’s one of the biggest liquor corporations in the city.”

“That’s right.” Hiram says. “Then I trust that you know where it’s located?”

Cheryl wrinkles her eyebrows. “The Southside. That’s why we don’t serve it at family events.”

Clifford makes a ‘tsk’ sound. “Blossoms are not so petty that we won’t associate with a business purely because of where it operates.”

“The reason your father and myself do not associate ourselves with the Whyte Wyrm Brewery is because it happens to be a front, Miss Blossom. A front for the Southside Serpents.”

Cheryl feels her entire body go cold.

The Southside Serpents. They used to be a bedtime story that her mother had spun, a warning of what would happen to little boys and girls who didn’t listen to their parents. As she grew older, the learned that what was once a childhood nightmare was a terrifying reality.

Thieves. Drug dealers. _Murderers_.

All of those things can apply to the Blossom business as well, of course, but Cheryl’s status has always guaranteed nothing nefarious can ever touch her. She can almost banish the knowledge of her family’s sins from her mind if she tries hard enough.

That’s the whole damn reason she worked her ass off to become a doctor. Surely every life she saves through her own work can atone for lives ruined through her family’s.

It has to. For her own sanity.

Cheryl ducks her head, attempting to hide behind her hair. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you, my child, are going to be infiltrating them.”

“You want me to _infiltrate_ the _Southside Serpents_?” Cheryl shrieks.

“We do.” Hiram nodded. “An opportunity has presented itself. We intend to take it.”

“You mean you intend for _me_ to take it.” Cheryl hisses. “I am a _doctor_ , not one of your low life spies. I will not-”

“You will.” Her father intercepts. “You are a part of the Blossom legacy. It’s time you start acting like it.”

Hiram’s chair scrapes against  the floor as he pulls it so that he is directly next to Cheryl.

“We have spies on the inside already, Cheryl. But they are mere thugs, and are only allowed to do some petty drug dealing for the Serpents. You, on the other hand, have something to offer them.” Hiram reaches out and squeezes Cheryl’s hand. It takes everything within her not to yank it back.

Cheryl flexes her jaw. “What do you want me to do for them?”

“The plan is simple enough. In a few days, you will be shopping at an outlet mall on the Southside. Don’t worry, I have connections with the owner. We’ve been tailing one of the Serpent’s higher ups for a few weeks now. When he’s close to your location, we’ll strike.”

“Strike?”

“Rough him up a bit.” Hiram shrugs nonchalantly, and Cheryl is certain that her definition of ‘a bit’ is vastly different from his. “He’ll be in critical enough condition for you to step in. Patch him up, go back to the Wyrm with him. They’ll welcome you, they have a big enough sense of honour for that.”

“And when they realize I’m a Blossom? Daddy is one of their biggest rival drug kingpins.” Cheryl spits. “My head will be delivered in a box to this very study.”

“They won’t know you are.” Hiram says. He looks like he’s enjoying this far too much. “Keeping Jason in the spotlight has its advantages for you. Our resources say that the Serpents have no clue that the Blossom’s have a daughter.”

“The only times we’ve allowed you to be seen is during family events, and even then we ensure that Jason is the only one people _truly_ see.”

“I’m aware, Daddy.” Cheryl rolls her eyes. “I’ve spoken about that many a time during my countless therapy sessions.”

Hiram ignores her outburst. “They’ll try to collect you. A fully qualified doctor in this business is nothing to sneeze at, and they’ve been losing members due to idiotic underground medics left and right.”

“They’ll try to recruit me...and you want me to let them?” Cheryl can’t fully believe what she’s hearing.

“Not exactly. It’s unlikely they’ll want to make you a Serpent. No, they’ll want you as an ally. Someone for them to call on. That’s why you will be taking a leave of absence from the hospital. You will need to be available for them twenty-four seven.”

As if he senses her reluctance, her father reaches across the desk for her hand. Cheryl gingerly places her palm in his, and he squeezes it lightly.

“I’ve never asked anything of you, child. Which is why I am confident you will be sure to please me by undertaking this task. If you do well...perhaps we can see about involving you more in our family’s dealings. Who knows, maybe you can even earn a spot next to Jason.”  
  
A chance to be next to Jason?

Is that worth giving up every fucking shred of morals she has?

Cheryl looks to the wall opposite Jason’s portrait and imagines her own hanging there.

She _wants_ it.

“Okay.”

The smile her father gives her and the sound of Hiram’s pleased clap almost make up for the guilt settling into her gut.


End file.
